Slovak PM Fico says he will not honour NATO Article 5 in case of Russian attack
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said during a speech at a hospital in Prešov that he does not intend to fulfil NATO Article 5 obligations or see Slovakia drawn into a military conflict in the event of a Russian attack on the Alliance. He accused European leaders of "warlike rhetoric" and did not once name Russia as the aggressor or as a source of military threat to Europe, while announcing a visit to Kyiv the next day to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky.
Key points
- Fico said he would not fulfil Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty and would not send Slovak soldiers to fight in a conflict triggered by it.
- He made the remarks in a speech to students and staff at a hospital in Prešov.
- He did not mention Russia as the aggressor or as a source of military threat to Europe, and accused European leaders of "warlike rhetoric".
- He said the risk of a pan-European military conflict had never been as "serious and tense as now".
- He announced a visit to Kyiv on September 18 to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky.
- After returning to office in autumn 2023 Fico halted Slovak military aid to Ukraine; in 2024–2025 he opposed Ukraine's NATO membership and in June 2026 opposed further large-scale support for Ukraine ahead of the Ankara summit.
Why it matters
A sitting head of government of a NATO member state publicly cast doubt on whether his country would honour the Alliance's core collective-defence commitment, the day before travelling to Kyiv. The remarks come against a documented backdrop of Russian hybrid incidents in and near NATO territory in September, including a drone strike on a passenger train at Yahodyn near the Polish border on September 13, signal rockets fired at a Danish helicopter from a Russian frigate on September 14, a Russian drone shot down over Lithuania on September 15, and a Russian strike drone falling near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing on September 17. Fico has also been a consistent opponent of further military and financial support for Ukraine and of Ukraine's NATO accession.
What happened
Speaking at a hospital in Prešov to students and staff, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he would not fulfil NATO Article 5 obligations in the event of a Russian attack and would use his office to keep Slovakia out of any military conflict triggered by the clause. He accused European leaders of "warlike rhetoric", questioned who NATO would be told to fight, and at no point named Russia as the aggressor or as the source of a military threat to Europe. He nonetheless said NATO membership remained important to Slovakia and that the country respected its obligations within the Alliance. He also said the risk of a pan-European military conflict had never been as "serious and tense as now". During the same period he announced a visit to Kyiv on September 18 to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language coverage leads with Fico's refusal to honour Article 5, presenting it as an abdication of Alliance solidarity. It underlines that Fico did not once name Russia as the aggressor and accused European leaders of "warlike rhetoric", reading this as evidence of his alignment with Moscow. The articles place the speech in the context of Fico's record since returning to office in autumn 2023 — halting Slovak military aid to Ukraine, opposing Ukraine's NATO membership and threatening to veto it, calling it a path to World War III, and opposing further large-scale support for Ukraine ahead of the July 2026 NATO summit in Ankara. They also tie the timing to recent Russian hybrid incidents near and inside NATO territory — the Yahodyn drone strike on a passenger train on September 13, a Russian strike drone near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing on September 17, signal rockets fired at a Danish helicopter from a Russian frigate on September 14, a Russian drone shot down over Lithuania on September 15, and German sabotage probes. Several outlets note that, despite the rhetoric, Slovakia has kept some channels open: an early-June meeting between the Ukrainian and Slovak foreign ministers on defence cooperation, and Fico's mid-June talks with Zelensky on humanitarian aid, energy and border infrastructure.
Where reporting differs
Two naming inconsistencies appear across the supplied sources. The head of the Danish Security Service's counterintelligence is given as Emil Græsholt in one fact, Emil Grasholm in another and Emil Grøndahl in a third. The Ukrainian prime minister that Fico said he would meet is rendered as Serhiy Koretsky, Serhiy Koreckyi and Serhiy Koretsky across the facts. The substantive reporting on Fico's Article 5 remarks and on the Russian hybrid incidents does not otherwise diverge.
Background
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty establishes the principle of NATO collective defence, with the specific form of assistance left to each member state. Fico returned to the Slovak prime ministership in autumn 2023 and immediately halted Slovak military aid to Ukraine while making regular statements framed as justifying the Russian invasion. Throughout 2024–2025 he opposed Ukraine's NATO membership and threatened to veto it, calling accession a direct path to World War III. In June 2026, ahead of the July NATO summit in Ankara, he came out categorically against further large-scale financial and military support for Ukraine. The Prešov speech came against a cluster of recent Russian hybrid incidents: a drone strike on a passenger train locomotive at Yahodyn station, about 2 km from the Polish border, on September 13; signal rockets fired from a Russian frigate at a Danish military helicopter on September 14; a Russian drone shot down over Lithuania near the Kruonis pumped-storage plant on September 15; another Russian strike drone falling near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing on September 17, which the Institute for the Study of War said was aimed at current and former European officials leaving Ukraine; and in Germany, repeated investigations of suspected Russian sabotage and espionage, including probes of attacks on military aid supply routes, an arson at a DHL logistics centre in Leipzig, and a drone incident near an Antonov cargo aircraft at Leipzig/Halle airport. In late August, Slovak police said they had prevented an arson at the Skyeton UAV plant in eastern Slovakia, which the company links to Russia; Skyeton's Kyiv office was destroyed by a Russian strike in May.